It is with deep appreciation for your help, encouragement, readership and support over the past three years that I am tasked with announcing the suspension of operations at the Nevada News Bureau.

In short, we have been unable to secure the funds we would need to continue operating in 2013. Such is life, sometimes, in the non-profit world.

More than two dozen Nevada newspapers and websites have been regularly publishing our stories this past year, and I regret that we will no longer be able to provide them with free, non-partisan content about Nevada government and politics. I am also sorry to disappoint the more than 330,000 (Continue reading…)

CARSON CITY – Gov. Brian Sandoval today said he wants an assessment of how Nevada’s public schools are doing in regards to security following the horrific shooting deaths a week ago at a Connecticut elementary school.

Sandoval made the request as chairman of the state Homeland Security Commission, which met today by teleconference. A presentation will be prepared for the next meeting of the commission.

“I think it would be worthwhile perhaps if we had an item on the agenda where we could get some type of presentation of where our state stands in terms of school security,” he said. “I’m interested in terms of what is best practices and (Continue reading…)

CARSON CITY – As Rep. Mark Amodei, R-Nev., prepared today to attend another briefing with his House Republican colleagues on the latest “fiscal cliff” negotiations, he said that he would consider tax hikes on the wealthiest Americans to reduce the deficit, but not to fund increased government spending.

“Am I willing to increase revenues to fund more government spending?” Amodei asked. “No, I’m not. The spending dynamic is out of control. Am I willing to look at revenues that will reduce the debt, not to fund more government spending? Yes I am.”

CARSON CITY – Gov. Brian Sandoval today announced he has appointed Elaine Wynn to the state Board of Education, effective January 8, 2013.

“Elaine has long been a vocal advocate for improving the delivery of education to our state’s children,” Sandoval said. “From her service to our state as co-chair of the Education Reform Blue Ribbon Task Force to her continued work with students in the greater Las Vegas area, Elaine is a dedicated champion for education and I am pleased she has agreed to serve in this manner.”

Elaine Wynn.

Wynn, director of Wynn Resorts since 2000, was appointed by then-Gov. Jim Gibbons as co-chair of (Continue reading…)

CARSON CITY – Nevada Supreme Court Justice James Hardesty said today that the country will not have success in reducing the tragic type of shooting incident that occurred Friday in Connecticut without providing more mental health support.

Hardesty, interviewed on the Nevada NewsMakers television program, said “we’re going backwards” on mental health treatment needs nationally and in Nevada.

Nevada Supreme Court Justice James Hardesty.

“It’s high time the country does something about these matters,” he said. “And from the perspective of a judge who has worked hard to, and the judiciary as a whole, worked hard to promote mental health court as an (Continue reading…)

CARSON CITY – Gov. Brian Sandoval today released budget data that had been sought by state lawmakers after a weeks-long disagreement over whether the information was public.

The state Budget Office posted the “items for special consideration” data on its website at noon. The items are requests made to Sandoval by state agencies for spending over and above their base-budget submissions. The base budget data was released by the Sandoval administration in October.

Gov. Brian Sandoval.

Included in the requests is a proposal to expand the Medicaid program to a new group of Nevada residents as provided for under the Affordable Care Act. As first reported by (Continue reading…)

CARSON CITY – Nevada State Medical Association President Florence Jameson said today that Gov. Brian Sandoval made a “politically courageous and correct” policy decision to expand the Nevada Medicaid program.

The decision will ensure that there will not be a new class of uninsured Nevadans when the federal health coverage changes are implemented in January 2014, said Jameson, a physician.

This decision assures coverage for low income uninsured Nevadans who would not be eligible for the new health insurance products provided through the Silver State Health Insurance Exchange. While controversial, the principal achievement of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA) is the development (Continue reading…)

CARSON CITY – State Senate Republican leaders today commended GOP Gov. Brian Sandoval’s decision to expand the state Medicaid program as a commitment to the health of all Nevadans and a boost for a critical sector of the state’s economy.

“Ensuring that poor Nevadans have access to primary health care through Medicaid is very simply the right thing to do, both for our citizens and our economy,” said Sen. Michael Roberson, R-Henderson. “It will reduce our rate of uninsured and provide individuals with greater economic security.”

State Sen. Michael Roberson, R-Henderson.

“Nevada’s health care indicators continually trail its neighboring states and regularly rank among the worst in the nation,” (Continue reading…)

CARSON CITY – Gov. Brian Sandoval today announced he will include 78,000 additional people in Nevada’s Medicaid program as provided for under the federal Affordable Care Act.

“Though I have never liked the Affordable Care Act because of the individual mandate it places on citizens, the increased burden on businesses and concerns about access to health care, the law has been upheld by the Supreme Court,” he said in a statement. “As such, I am forced to accept it as today’s reality and I have decided to expand Nevada’s Medicaid coverage.

CARSON CITY – The U.S. Department of Education announced today that 16 applicants, including the Carson City School District, will share nearly $400 million in Race to the Top funds to improve student learning.

The award will mean up to $10 million to the district. An application submitted by the Clark County School District did not receive funding.

One comment on the Carson application said in part: “The Carson City School District provides a very strong, comprehensive, and coherent plan for the revision of the district school system.”

Photo courtesy of the National Archives and Records Administration via Wikimedia Commons.

CARSON CITY – A newly elected Republican state lawmaker plans to push forward with a bill next session to allow students and others with permits to carry concealed weapons on the campuses of the Nevada System of Higher Education.

Assemblywoman Michele Fiore, R- Las Vegas, elected to Assembly District 4 in November, has submitted a bill draft request to prepare a measure for consideration in the 2013 legislative session.

The one-line description for the request says: “Authorizes the possession of a concealed firearm on property of the Nevada System of Higher Education under certain circumstances.”

Fiore, a lifetime member of the National Rifle Association, made 2nd Amendment rights a key part (Continue reading…)

CARSON CITY – Nevada casinos took in $978.8 million from gamblers in October, eking out a modest 1.9 percent increase over the same month in 2011, the Gaming Control Board reported today. It was the third consecutive month of modest gaming wins for the state.

For the 2013 fiscal year that began July 1, the gaming win has increased 4.6 percent.

The October increase was primarily due to a 3.6 percent gain on the Las Vegas Strip, where casinos pulled in $580.7 million. Clark County overall was up 2.8 percent, while South Lake Tahoe posted a 0.8 percent gain with $15.9 million in revenues.

CARSON CITY – The Nevada State Democratic Party today said Gov. Brian Sandoval should immediately disclose state agency budget requests to the Legislature and public.

Some state lawmakers expressed concern at an Interim Finance Committee meeting in October that the Sandoval administration had not provided them with information about state agency requests over and above their base budget requests, known as “items for special consideration.”

“Governor Sandoval’s refusal to disclose his administration’s budget requests is deeply disturbing and likely violates Nevada law,” the statement says. “The governor is not entitled to pick and choose which laws he wants to follow. Governor Sandoval should immediately disclose his budget requests, as required by the (Continue reading…)

Attorneys for the teachers association and state business interests faced off before the Nevada Supreme Court today over whether a proposed margins tax initiative petition has met legal requirements and so should be submitted to the 2013 Legislature.

A Carson City district court judge earlier this year said the petition filed by the Nevada State Education Association to establish a 2 percent tax on companies making gross revenues in excess of $1 million a year was invalid because the 200 word “description of effect” was incomplete. It did not specify how much revenue the tax would generate, said Judge James Wilson in a ruling in October.

CARSON CITY – Nevada’s state Senate Republican leadership today expressed support for a state policy that makes thousands of young immigrants living in Nevada eligible for a state-issued driver’s license or ID.

The Nevada Department of Motor Vehicles, with the support of Gov. Brian Sandoval, announced this week that its policy would be to honor the employment authorization card granted to successful applicants under the U.S. Department of Homeland Security’s (DHS) Deferred Action program.

Senate Minority Leader Michael Roberson, R-Henderson, said he supports the DMV policy and hopes those eligible will take advantage of this opportunity.